Big Time Rush returns to SPAC after decade away
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » It was a big night at the Saratoga Performing Art Center for fans young and old as Big Time Rush made the ninth stop on its “Can’t Get Enough” tour.
It wasn’t the band’s first time taking the Broadview Stage at SPAC, but due to the band taking a break in 2013, it has been a decade since it returned to Spa City. Now on its second headlining tour since reuniting, joined by openers JAX and MAX, Big Time Rush returned on June 3 to play to an excited crowd of both longtime fans and some that have stuck with them since their Nickelodeon days.
JAX, who opened the show, was a firecracker of energy from the moment she stepped on the stage. Be it singing “Teenage Dirtbag” from the perspective of Noel or a song about how all the Disney princesses lost their minds called “Cinderella Snapped” she had the crowd on their feet and singing along. Her set also included a sneak peek at an unreleased song as well as a touching piano tribute to her parent’s 30 years of marriage in a song titled “Like My Father.”
Along with fun commentary, and expressing her gratitude to her fans for allowing her to become friends with guys (Big Time Rush and MAX) that she has been fans of all her life, JAX closed her set with her viral hit “Victoria’s Secret” which she wrote for the girl she babysits and has over 121 million streams on Spotify.
MAX was next to take the stage and exuded confidence and swagger from the moment he was at the mic. From jumping around, spinning and interacting with fans in the crowd everyone was locked in and jamming out. He played some of his most popular songs including “Blueberry Eyes,” which had him rapping in Korean to cover SUGA’s verse, and “Lights Down Low” which lit the audience of the area up via the crowds pulling out their flashlights.
MAX also made a nod to his time on Nickelodeon, exciting long-term fans with snippets of songs from his movie Rags including “Someday” and “Me and You Against the World.” The singer also played an unreleased track entitled “Strings” which he said would be coming out at the end of the month. He also teased a headlining tour at some point in the future that excited the crowds and is something that fans should be on the lookout for.
It would not be surprising if people on Broadway could hear the cheers from fans by the way the venue erupted after Big Time Rush took the stage. The crowd was ecstatic as the four boys emerged from the smoke, and began to sing “Can’t Get Enough.”
It was a whirl of choreographed dances, incredible lighting and amazing stage work that proved these four boys were performing veterans. Skillfully weaving a setlist that combined songs that are classic BTR and some newer ones off their most recent two albums fans were able to appreciate the songs they have known for ages as well as the ones they have recently fallen in love with.
One thing that was incredibly clear throughout the whole night is how appreciative the band is of their fans.
From their tradition of pulling fans from the audience to be their “WorldWide Girls” who they serenade on stage to making sure to acknowledge and thank those who came out, especially touching how much it means that even after their break there are still so many fans who stuck around, it is clear that they value their supporters immensely.
For fans like Samantha Horowitz, it’s just as special to get to see them after all these years.
“It was incredible getting to see a band I have loved so long play in person,” Horowitz said. “It hit me in the feels and filled me with so much nostalgia.”
The vibes were incredibly high as Big Time Rush played through their discography. Including upbeat numbers like “Waves” and “Paralyzed” to more groovy songs like “Weekends” and “Ask You Tonight” “to a five-song medley including “Famous,” “City Is Ours,” “24/ Seven,” an unreleased song “Shot in the Dark” and “Big Night” the band made sure to craft a setlist that would entertain, and they succeeded. They even include more slowed-down moments like “Any Kind of Guy” and a piano ballad of “Invisible” which had all four boys being raised above the stage on a platform.
Of course, the boy couldn’t go to a show without including some of their most popular songs through their time on TV including the titular “Big Time Rush” and ‘Confetti Falling,” which as the song suggests had confetti cannons go off. But, the band was not done there.
Big Time Rush reemerged for a three-song encore, which at one point even featured the boys running into and through the audience to get up close and personal with more of their fans as they sang the beloved songs “Windows Down,” “Boyfriend” and “Till I Forget About You.”
According to the band, they have many fond memories of playing in Saratoga and the audience is definitely in competition to be one of their loudest and most energetic yet. And if the crowd was any indicator, be it next year or after another 10 years Spa City would be happy to welcome them back again.